10 DECEMBER 2016

Hopoate Steps Up against McCall on May 22

John Hopoate surrounded by the media

By Paul Upham: Former rugby league star and current Australian heavyweight boxing champion John “Hoppa” Hopoate will make his international boxing debut on 22nd May 2009, in Las Vegas, USA when he faces former heavyweight world champion Oliver “The Atomic Bull” McCall. The match was announced at a packed press conference at the City of Sydney PCYC on Tuesday morning.

“This fight means everything to me and my family,” said Hopoate. “I win this fight and so many more opportunities will come from it.”

The McCall-Hopoate match and undercard will be streamed on-line by www.SecondsOut.com.au exclusively live in Australia on Saturday 23rd May 2009 at 1:00pm AEST.

The cost of the McCall-Hopoate fight will be $9.99 Australian dollars, which represents tremendous value to boxing fans.

34 year-old John Hopoate, the current Australian heavyweight boxing champion, has a professional boxing record of 11 wins, 2 losses and 11 wins by knockout.

The ten round boxing match between Hopoate and McCall at the Orleans Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA, will be for the vacant IBA Intercontinental title and is a tremendous opportunity for the Australian boxer to make a name for himself on the international scene.

44 year-old Oliver McCall was a long time sparring partner of former heavyweight world champion “Iron” Mike Tyson and shocked the boxing world in September 1994 when he knocked out heavyweight great Lennox Lewis in two rounds in London to win the WBC heavyweight world title. Known as the “Atomic Bull”, McCall has a lethal right hand knockout punch and his professional record currently stands at 51 wins, 9 losses and 36 knockout wins.

“He has got a lot of experience,” said Hopoate. “Anyone who was Mike Tyson’s sparring partner must be tough.”

John Hopoate played 209 first grade games in the National Rugby League (NRL) between 1993 and 2005, scoring 87 tries. He also represented NSW in State of Origin football and represented Australia in two Test matches in 1995, scoring 3 tries.